By Aaron Portzline, Sean Gentille and Hailey Salvian
Columbus Blue Jackets left winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed in a traffic crash Thursday in Oldmans Township, N.J., outside Philadelphia, New Jersey State Police said.
Police said the Gaudreau brothers were riding bicycles on County Route 551 when they were hit by the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was trying to pass an SUV on a two-lane road. The SUV had moved to the center of the road to pass the brothers on their bicycles, who were on the SUV’s right side. The driver of the Jeep then attempted to pass the SUV on the right and struck the Gaudreau brothers in the rear, causing them to sustain fatal injuries, according to police.
The crash occurred around 8:30 p.m. ET, about an hour after sunset. Both brothers were pronounced dead on the scene, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by New Jersey State Police.
The driver of the Jeep, Sean M. Higgins, is being investigated for driving under the influence and has been charged with two counts of death by auto, according to police. Higgins, 43, was being held in the Salem County (N.J.) Correctional Facility, the police and online inmate records confirmed.
According to the affidavit, Higgins told police he had consumed approximately 5-6 beers before and while operating his vehicle. He failed a sobriety test and was placed under arrest. Higgins told police he thought the driver of the SUV moved toward the center of the road to prevent Higgins from passing, and he said his consumption of alcohol contributed to his impatience and reckless driving, according to the affidavit.
Higgins has a pretrial detention hearing on Sept. 5, according to the Associated Press. He was represented by a public defender at an appearance Friday but indicated he would hire his own attorney, the AP reported.
New Jersey State Police said the investigation is ongoing.
On Friday morning, about 30 miles from the crash site, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker held a previously scheduled news conference giving updates on efforts to increase the safety of bicycle riders in the city. She opened her remarks with a moment of silence for the Gaudreau brothers.
“It’s terrible, and it highlights the urgency of this issue of traffic safety again here in Philadelphia,” Parker said. “Our moment of silence is not just for that immediate tragedy, but for all victims of traffic violence.”
Johnny, 31, had an 11-year NHL career, spending the first nine seasons with the Calgary Flames before signing a seven-year contract with the Blue Jackets in the summer of 2022. He had plenty of fans, earning the nickname “Johnny Hockey” for his dazzling quickness and skill and emerging as one of the league’s top playmaking wingers, making six All-Star teams in eight seasons with the Flames.
He reached those heights, eventually earning a contract with the Blue Jackets worth more than $68 million, despite an uncommonly small frame for the sport.
Eventually listed at 5-foot-9, Gaudreau’s lack of size marked him as an underdog at various spots throughout his career. Calgary drafted him in the fourth round out of the United States Hockey League, and from there, he headed to Boston College, where he won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player. He signed his entry-level deal with the Flames on the same day and scored 64 points in his first full NHL season.
Matthew, 29, also played pro hockey, most recently with the ECHL’s Worcester Railers in 2021-22.
“The National Hockey League family is shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “While Johnny’s infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname ‘Johnny Hockey,’ he was more than just a dazzling hockey player.
“He was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have cross his path.”
Johnny is survived by his wife, Meredith, and two children under the age of 2: a daughter, Noa, and a son, Johnny. Matthew is survived by his wife Madeline. The brothers are also survived by their parents, Guy and Jane, and two sisters, Katie and Kristen Gaudreau.
According to a popular wedding planning website, Katie Gaudreau’s wedding was scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia. Both brothers were to be groomsmen at Katie’s wedding, while Madeline, Meredith and Kristen were to be co-maids of honor.
Johnny’s tight-knight relationship with his family defined much of his hockey career. Guy Gaudreau taught his son how to skate at Hollydell Ice Arena, in Sewell, N.J., where he worked as the hockey director, and eventually coached him at Gloucester Catholic. Matthew, who joined his older brother on the team at Boston College where the two played together for the 2013-14 season, followed in his father’s footsteps and coached at Gloucester Catholic for the past two seasons.
By late Friday morning, a growing pile of flowers laid next to a pair of hockey sticks sat outside the Hollydell arena.
Jim Mackey, the owner of the rink and a seventh-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 1990, knows the Gaudreau family well.
“Johnny and Matt are South Jersey legends,” Mackey said Friday. “Anyone coming to the community was very much aware of the Gaudreau family and the Gaudreau boys.”
While Johnny would regularly swing by the rink, sometimes to use the training facilities in the offseason, Matthew was especially active. When Matthew retired, he returned to Hollydell to help launch their Tier II junior team, now known as the NAHL’s Philadelphia Rebels. Matthew was an assistant coach for four years.
There is sizable wall space at Hollydell in the bar/restaurant area dedicated to the Gaudreau brothers, including a No. 13 Flames jersey worn by Johnny, and a No. 40 Bridgeport Sound Tigers sweater belonging to Matt.
They serve as an inspiration to other young hockey players, according to Mackey.
“Johnny is not a 6-foot-5-inch guy, right? Johnny looked like a normal guy” Mackey said. “And as a result, I think he was a source of hope for countless players that have come through Hollydell Ice Arena. I want to be like Johnny Gaudreau, and I can see myself being that way because he looks like one of us. I would think that countless kids were motivated and could set their dreams on what Johnny and Matt accomplished.”
“We’re devastated,” Mackey added. “it’s going to take a long time to process all of our grief.”
A tribute to the Gaudreau brothers outside their childhood rink in N.J. (Photo: Kevin Kurz / The Athletic)
When Gaudreau reached free agency in 2022 after eight seasons in Calgary, he eventually chose to sign with Columbus. Its proximity to his family in South Jersey was a major factor. The location was also ideal for him and Meredith to raise children; she is a South Jersey native and has worked as a NICU nurse.
In the wake of his father’s heart attack in 2018, Gaudreau bought a vacation home near his family so they could spend more time together. Living in the house next door was Meredith. Within a few years, the two were married, expecting their first child and faced with the most important decision of his career.
“I said to him, ‘Listen, John, everything works out for a reason,’” Jane Gaudreau told the podcast “Raising A Champion” in 2022. “He loves Columbus. He’s happy. He loves the town. It’s a great place for him and his wife to raise a family. We’re just really, really proud of him.
“He really thought about, ‘Let me think about not just myself and how easy it would be to stay in Calgary and play there. Let me think about the family I’m going to have, and my wife and her family.’ Our family, we were used to that. We were used to our son being 2,600 miles away.”
Gaudreau’s choice to leave Calgary was as difficult as it was momentous. He agonized over it, changing his mind throughout the process and only deciding to sign with the Blue Jackets once free agency opened in the summer of 2022.
“I’m so proud to have been on this team, and to have represented this city. And these last few weeks … I’ve been struggling every time I think about that,” Gaudreau wrote for The Players’ Tribune in 2022. “All of the relationships we’ve built here, all the amazing friendships we have — I could feel those in my chest every time I thought about leaving.”
Ultimately, he said, the choice came down to family.
“Over the course of our relationship, I’ve learned a lot from (Meredith) about how to balance those two things: a passion for your work with a passion for the people in your life. I’ve learned a lot about the person I want to be. Which is a good son, a good husband, and (soon!) a good father.
“And, in the end, trying to find this balance is what this decision came down to.”
GO DEEPER
Remembering Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Gaudreau: ‘Those two guys … elevated everything’
In Columbus, Gaudreau was the highest-profile player on a franchise in flux — the team finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference in 2023-24. Gaudreau was set to reprise a key role alongside an influx of talented prospects and a new coach and general manager this fall.
“The Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy,” the team said in a statement. “Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friends. … Johnny played the game with great joy, which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice. He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played … The impact he had on our organization and our sport was profound, but pales in comparison to the indelible impression he made on everyone who knew him.”
This marks the second time in three years that an unexpected death has struck the Blue Jackets franchise. On July 4, 2021, goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died as the result of a fireworks accident in Novi, Mich.
(Top photo: Ben Jackson / NHLI via Getty Images; Map: John Bradford / The Athletic)
